Abstraction?

Entitled The Red Spider Nebula this piece is a posterised silk screen print of the actual red spider nebula (also known as NGC 6537) located approximately 3000 light years away in the constellation Sagittarius.
It is a planetary nebula meaning that it is the remnant of a star much like our own sun, that had exited the red giant phase of its life. Having thrown off its outermost gases the star itself collapses back into a white dwarf star.
I chose to do a piece like this for several reasons. Firstly I am a total nerd when it comes to astronomy. Secondly while I am not particularly a fan of landscapes I figure that if I am going to go for the grandiose I may as well go for the grandest view there is: our galactic neighborhood. And thirdly while it is an image of an actual thing it plays a bit like an abstract piece of art.
I have been finding things like this lately and playing with them a bit. The idea of taking something real and abstracting it is intresting, but I have found a newer and more profound interest in taking something that is real and already abstracted as well as being formalisticly sound. The Idea is one I am currently exploring in my art.
This is not the best photograph of this piece - I'll upload a better photo soon (or perhaps a high quality digital scan).